Diseases involving tissue remodeling and fibrosis are a leading cause of death worldwide. Nearly 45 percent of all natural deaths in the western world are attributable to some type of chronic fibroproliferative disease and the associated health care costs are in the billions of dollars. Tissue remodeling is the reorganization or renovation of existing tissues, which can either change the characteristics of a tissue (e.g., blood vessel remodeling) or participate in establishing the dynamic equilibrium of a tissue (e.g., bone remodeling). Fibrosis is the formation or development of excess fibrous connective tissue in an organ or tissue as a reparative or reactive process, as opposed to formation of fibrous tissue as a normal constituent of an organ or tissue. Fibrosis affects nearly all tissues and organ systems, and fibrotic tissue remodeling can influence cancer metastasis and accelerate chronic graft rejection in transplant recipients. Diseases in which fibrosis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality include the interstitial lung diseases, liver cirrhosis, kidney disease, heart disease, and systemic sclerosis, among others.
Stem cell factor (SCF) and its receptor c-Kit have been implicated in fibrotic and tissue remodeling diseases (El-Koraie, et al., Kidney Int. 60: 167 (2001); Powell, et al., Am. J. Physiol. 289: G2 (2005); El Kossi, et al., Am. J. Kidney Dis. 41: 785 (2003); Powell, et al., Am. J. Physiol. 277: C183 (1999)). c-Kit is a type III receptor-tyrosine kinase that is present in many cell types (Orr-Urtreger et al., Development 109: 911 (1990)). It is also expressed in the early stages of differentiation (Andre et al., Oncogene 4: 1047 (1989)) and certain tumors exhibit elevated expression of c-kit. SCF is a ligand specific for the c-Kit receptor kinase. Binding causes dimerization of c-Kit and activation of its kinase activity. SCF was first isolated from the supernatant of murine fibroblasts. At the time, SCF was called mast cell growth factor (MGF) (Williams et al., Cell 63: 167 (1990)) or hematopoietic growth factor KL (Kit ligand) (Huang et al., Cell 63: 225 (1990)). A homologue was subsequently isolated from rat liver cells and designated stem cell factor (SCF) (Zsebo et al., Cell 63: 195 (1990)). The corresponding human protein is designated variously as SCF, MGF, or Steel Factor (SF) (Cell 63: 203 (1990)).
Previous studies have suggested that an inhibitor of c-Kit receptor tyrosine kinase can significantly inhibit aberrant tissue fibrosis (see, e.g., Aono, Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 171: 1279 (2005); Vuorinen, et al., Exp. Lung Res. 33: 357 (2007); Vittal, et al., J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 321:35 (2007); Distler, et al., Arthritis Rheum 56: 311 (2007)). However, this inhibitor has several disadvantages. It needs to be given systemically by oral administration, it has some toxicity associated with its use, and the compound must be delivered intracellularly for efficacy. Consequently, alternative therapies are needed.